skiddySkiddy, 1820-1859
Little information is available on this vessel while it was called the skiddySkiddy, a New York pilot boat; however, it was purchased by the US Navy in January 1853
and renamed the skiddyFennimore Cooper—it was used as a tender on a surveying expedition to the Bering Strait, North Pacific,
and China Seas.1
According to this private correspondence, the skiddyFennimore Cooper was a US surveying schooner, that was scheduled to make a stop in Japanese waters
sometime in late 1858. The final destination for the skiddyFennimore Cooper is not specified in the despatch, but its stop in Japan was for the purpose of delivering
Joseph Hui, whom Rowlandson recommends as a prospective interpreter & to Lord Elgins Japan Expedition.
- 1. Fenimore Cooper, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
Mentions of this vessel in the documents